Sleep Over Secrets (SOS)
by instantwaffles
Summary: Alya, Nino, Marinette, and Adrien get together for one last winter holiday huzzah. But secrets always ruin the fun. (reveal fic)
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N: Hey! This is my first fanfic for this fandom. This was originally written as part of a secret Santa gift exchange on tumblr but I decided to post it here as well. Come scream at me on tumblr at instantwaffles. I hope you enjoy the story! I do not own Miraculous Lady bug)**

Sleep Over Secrets (SOS)

Nino, Alya, Marinette, and Adrien had decided about two weeks ago, that one final giant sleepover was completely necessary to mark the end of winter break and arrival of the New Year. So, they had planned to get together at Adrien's mansion and hang out. After several phone calls to Mr. Agreste and begging and pleading from Adrien to Natalie, schedules were arranged and rules were placed. The four teens were ecstatic to spend quality time with each other.

The epic sleepover started around three on a Saturday after the last photo shoot of Adrien's week. Nino was the first to arrive and he headed immediately to Adrien's room. The ban on Nino's visits had long since been lifted, although mysteriously. Adrien figured Natalie had something to do with it. Nino strolled into Adrien's room without so much of a thought about knocking and threw his bag onto Adrien's bed.

"Hey Nino." Adrien said pausing and looking up from his video game. He was determined to beat Marinette and started practicing the moment he got home.

"Hey dude," Nino replied joining his friend on the couch, "Have you heard from the gals?"

Adrien picked up his phone from beside him and checked for new messages. He shook his head and shrugged.

"They'll probably be here soon" Adrien said.

As if on cue, a timid knock came on Adrien's bedroom door. Nino shot a knowing look at Adrien, who called for the guest to come in. Marinette pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her arms were drawn close to her body, wrapped around a light pink overnight bag. As usual she looked uncomfortable and shy. Marinette and Adrien had gotten a considerable amount closer over the past month or two, due to Alya's constant pushing and prodding but Marinette was still a little tongue tied and shy around the sweet boy. After a few hours, around him, she would calm down but not before he told some lame jokes. Adrien watched her as she stood just inside the door. She started turning red and fidgeting. Nino started glancing between the two as the unnecessary tension started to rise. Nino wasn't exactly sure why this always happened between these two but the whole room was starting to feel stuffy and he couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey Adrien, Marinette is here." Nino said, stating the obvious because despite staring at her, he had yet to greet her like a normal person.

Adrien looked back at Nino for a second before turning and smiling brightly at Marinette.

"Hey Marinette. Long time no see." He greeted coolly.

She stopped fidgeting and just stood frozen for a second but her brain eventually caught up with the world around her and she waved a hello. Most of the time she opted out of talking until the initial shock of seeing Adrien wore off. Adrien looked at the bag she was carrying and back up at her eyes.

"You can put that on my bed if you'd like." He gestured to his bed, where Nino's green backpack was already resting.

She nodded and took a deep breath as Adrien looked back at Nino who was furiously typing on his phone.

"Is Alya held up in traffic or something?" Adrien asked.

Nino scrunched up his eyebrows and frowned down at his phone screen.

"No… She just…ugh." He groaned.

Adrien raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything.

"She thought she saw Ladybug and chased her all over town. Turns out it was just a very enthusiastic fan. She's gonna be a while." Nino sighed and shook his head.

Adrien smiled to himself and looked over to Marinette. His lady has so many dedicated fans.

"Did she say how long she would be?" Marinette asked from beside Adrien's bed. She really had no idea where she was supposed to stand so she stayed next to her bag.

"Uh..." Nino looked down at his phone again, "half an hour?"

Marinette sighed and rubbed her upper arms nervously. Alya was her backbone. Without Alya, she could barely look at Adrien. She glanced at him. He was staring at her again. Did she have something on her face? Marinette began to panic internally. Why was life so difficult? She looked away from Adrien and hoped that he would tell her if something really was on her face.

Nino looked up from his phone to see Adrien staring at poor Marinette again. Marinette was intently staring at the wall away from Adrien and slowly turning red again. Nino nudged Adrien.

"Dude. Quit staring. You're freaking her out." He muttered.

Adrien seemed to reenter reality.

"Hm. Oh. What?" He sputtered and looked at Nino,"I wasn't staring."

"Uh huh. And I wasn't born yesterday. What's going on with you, dude? Why are you so focused on Marinette?" Nino whispered, looking at Adrien with mild concern.

Adrien turned red and indignantly whispered.

"I'm not focusing on her! What does that even mean?"

Nino raised his eyebrows, giving Adrien an exasperated look.

"You know perfectly well what I mean. Why are you suddenly so interested in Marinette?" He bit back.

Marinette was still standing by the bed, slowly getting more and more uncomfortable as the whispered conversation continued.

"Uh… guys?" She started, unsure of what to say.

Adrien whipped around to face her, clearly thankful for the distraction from Nino's question. Nino glared at the back of Adrien's head before turning to face Marinette as well.

"Is uh… is everything okay?" She asked cautiously.

"I don't know. I was just asking Adrien why he keeps staring at MPH!" Nino started but was cut off by Adrien's hand clamping over his mouth.

Adrien turned back to Marinette, his hand still over Nino's mouth as he squirmed to get free, and smiled sheepishly. He couldn't let Nino ruin his chances to be Marinette's friend. Not when he already ruined his alter ego's chances. Around the same time that Alya started all but forcing Marinette to hang out with Adrien, Chat Noir started making nightly visits at her house. It was innocent; he just wanted to know why she was so anxious around Adrien, although he never did figure it out. They ended up becoming close friends despite Chat's forced secrecy. Chat even developed a small crush. But eventually Chat's bad luck kicked in and he walked in on Marinette de-transforming after a patrol. Marinette and Chat hadn't talked since then. Patrols and akuma battles were awkward silences.

"I have no idea what he's talking about." He said, mentally begging her to not question why he launched himself at Nino.

Marinette looked like she had just witnessed a murder. Her face was pale and she was standing so ridged it was easy to picture her being made of stone. Adrien nervously wondered if she had put two and two together and filed in the blank for what Nino was about to say. Nino, who was still very much trapped under his best friend's hand, was starting to have a difficult time breathing and decided desperate times call for desperate measures.

"ARGHK!" Adrien wailed as he sprung off Nino, "You licked me!" He yelled indignantly.

"Well of course I licked you!" Nino said as he sat up and straightened his shirt, "I could barely breathe with you crushing me like that."

Adrien stuck his tongue out at him childishly and wiped his hand off on the back of the couch. Nino rolled his eyes and glanced over at Marinette who was regaining color and taking deep breaths.

"Uh… Marinette, are you okay," he asked, wishing Alya would hurry up.

"Yeah" she replied, resting her forehead in her hand and sighing, "but I think I might be getting sick so I should probably go home…"

She picked up her bag, walked to the door, and pushed it open almost hitting a confused Alya in the face.

"Where are you going?" Alya asked as Marinette tried to continue out.

"Home?" Marinette asked hopefully.

Alya smirked and shook her head.

"Nuh uh," she said leaning forward to place the back of her hand to her friend's forehead, "No fever no excuse."

Marinette pouted as Ayla turned her around and prodded her back into Adrien's room.

"Hey Adrien," Alya greeted as she entered, leaning over the back of the couch and kissing Nino on the nose to greet him.

"Hey Alya." Adrien said, staring at Marinette again, concern apparent on his features.

Alya quickly picked up on his worry.

"Oh stop. She's perfectly fine. She's just worried that she'll make a fool of herself in front of MMM!" Alya was cut off by Marinette's hand.

"I-I don't know what she's talking about!" Marinette stumbled out, turning red.

Alya rolled her eyes and licked Marinette's hand. Marinette squeaked and turned to wipe her hand on the closest nonmoving thing. Which just happened to be poor stunned Adrien.

Adrien flung himself back in surprise, falling right to the floor before quickly springing up and pointing an accusing finger back and forth between Alya and Nino.

"What is with you two and licking people!" He demanded.

"What is it with you two and not letting us finish our sentences!" Nino shot back.

Adrien opened his mouth to defend himself but came up with nothing and decided to just glare at Nino.

"Aright!" Alya interjected as she wrapped one arm around Marinette's shoulders and flung her orange overnight bag towards the bed with the other. She paused a moment to glare at the bag when it landed just next to the bed instead of on it.

"Let's get down to business!" She continued.

She pulled Marinette, who was still frozen in horror from wiping spit on Adrien, forward and plopped her on the floor in front of the couch where the boys were sitting.

"What are we gonna do first?" Alya asked as she sat next to Marinette.

"Well, first you're going to tell us exactly why you thought some elaborate cosplayer was Ladybug." Nino said smugly as Alya turned red.

"Hey! She looked very legit! It's not my fault some people are good at recreating super suits!" She rebuked, glaring up at Nino's smug smile.

"…why don't we play a bored game or something?" Adrien suggested.

"Yes! A bored game!" Marinette chimed in watching as her friends got closer and closer. It was unclear if they were going to make out or fight and Marinette didn't want to watch either.

Alya sighed and turned her gaze to Marinette and Adrien. Shrugging she offered a noncommittal "sure." Nino nodded his approval.

So, they pulled out a dusty copy of monopoly and the blood bath began. Feelings were hurt. Death threats were made. The only good outcome of the game was Marinette settling down. No one came out of the game unscathed. In fact, no one even finished the game. After a long hour and a half and one too many poorly timed puns from Adrien, Alya had enough and flipped the board with a battle cry terrifying enough to strike fear in the heart of Hawkmoth himself. Marinette, who was the first one to go bankrupt, was huddled right in Alya's line of fire and ended up being rained on with plastic houses and paper money.

"Done with that!" Alya cried, "No more! Never again!"

Adrien nodded in stunned silence while Nino let out a cross between a sob and a groan. All four of the teenagers continued to sit in the circle on the floor not making eye contact for about ten minutes. Eventually, Marinette picked up all the tiny pieces and shoved them haphazardly into the box.

"Okay… what ELSE can we do?" She asked to no one in particular.

Alya, who had been staring intensely at the floor, broke into a devious grin.

"I know. We could play truth or" Alya was cut off by two pillows from the couch thrown at her face.

"PILLOW FIGHT!" Adrien and Marinette screamed in unison.

"Oh it's on." Alya said reaching for one of the pillows that had hit her.

Nino awoke from whatever monopoly stupor that he was in and grabbed the other pillow. Marinette and Adrien both ran for the bed to retrieve weapons as Alya and Nino started beating each other senseless. They got to the bed at the same time and grabbed the pillows. They looked up, holding eye contact and waiting for the other person to move first. Before Adrien could block her, Marinette lurched forward and hit him upside the head with her pillow with all her might. The contact made a soft 'whump' sort of noise. She turned and ran out of his room followed by Nino and Alya. Adrien was left to shake his head in confusion. Most of the pillow fights he had seen were from TV shows and movies. They always seemed lighthearted and fun but this one had so quickly turned into a full-on war. He shrugged to himself, grabbed his pillow, and rushed from the room to find his friends.

The house was silent as he moved quietly along. Adrien thanked his lucky stars that his father was away on business.

Meanwhile, a few hallways over Marinette was planning a sneak attack on Alya. As she crept up behind her an idea formed in her head. Marinette tucked her pillow under her arm and tapped her on the shoulder. Alya spun around, pillow raised at the ready.

"Truce! Truce!" Marinette begged, ducking her head and raising her hands defensively.

Alya grinned.

"Do you have a plan?" Alya asked although she was almost positive of the answer.

Marinette nodded and smiled.

"Here's what we do…"

Adrien was peeking around a corner to check for ambushes when Marinette came running up to him.

"Adrien!" She called sliding to a stop in front of him, "I overheard Alya and Nino talking. They formed an alliance!"

"What? Is that even allowed?" Adrien asked sounding shocked.

Marinette nodded solemnly.

"I think we should team up. We could totally take them!" She said cheerfully.

Adrien looked at her hopeful face and a sudden wave of guilt hit him. He had to tell her that he was Chat Noir and soon. He needed to apologize. He didn't know what to say so he just nodded and smiled. He was sure if he tried to speak he would have just ended up blurting out his identity.

Marinette smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him down a hallway.

"I heard them over by the stairs. They sounded like they were planning a surprise attack." She explained.

Adrien allowed her to pull him over to the bottom of the main staircase. She let go of his hand and peered around the banister. She turned back to face him.

"I think they might be over.." Marinette started.

"I'm Chat Noir." Adrien cut her off quickly.

Alya and Nino ran around the stairs with duel battle cries and came to a stop in front of Adrien and Marinette. Marinette shook her head slightly to clear it.

"DOUBLE AGENTS!" Marinette yelled and without holding back in the slightest slammed her pillow into Adrien's face.

Alya followed suit with Nino and the two girls beat the boys into the ground with no mercy.

After the girls decided they had fully murdered the boys, they helped them to their feet and all four of them marched back to Adrien's room to change into pajamas and watch a movie before turning in for the night. Marinette acted like she wasn't internally screaming and Adrien wondered if she had somehow not heard him. They all agreed to watch the first Harry Potter movie. Alya and Nino called the couch and immediately cuddled up with each other. Marinette and Adrien, however, sat on the floor several feet away from each other. Marinette silently prayed that Adrien didn't realize her night clothes were Chat Noir themed. She had bought them as a joke to show to Chat on a nightly visit but since he had stopped coming she decided to put them to use.

About twenty minutes into the movie Alya and Nino had passed out and were drooling on each other. Marinette and Adrien were left to struggle through the movie in awkward tension. Every few minutes or so one of them would glance at the other who would act like they were incredibly invested in the movie. They did this throughout the entire movie, not bothering to turn it off even though it was obvious no one was paying any attention. When the movie finally ended, Adrien stretched and faked a yawn.

"You can take the bed I'll sleep on the"

"What did you say?" Marinette interrupted.

Adrien looked at her in confusion.

"I said you can take the bed?" He questioned.

"No. Out in the hall. What did you say?" She was staring at him very intensely.

"Oh…uh.. I…um. I said…I-I'm Chat Noir." He stuttered out.

Marinette looked away and nodded. Adrien glanced over at Alya and Nino who were dead asleep.

"Are…. are you mad?" He asked nervously.

There was a pause. Adrien would swear that it lasted 15 minutes before Marinette looked up at him, her eyes narrowed.

"Of course, I'm mad, you stupid cat!" She whispered so Nino and Alya wouldn't wake up.

Adrien's heart plummeted. She was mad. He knew she would be. He felt tears prick his eyes and he looked away.

"Why?" She asked, voice unwavering.

"It was an accident." He answered truthfully.

Another long pause.

"You ignored me on accident?" She asked in disbelief.

"What? No! I just…. I saw you transform on accident. I wasn't ignoring…" He trailed off as he realized he had been ignoring her.

"Do… do you…" Marinette started, looking around nervously, "do you hate me?"

"HATE YOU?!" He screamed completely thrown off guard.

Marinette launched herself at him, slamming her hand over his mouth. She turned and looked over at Alya and Nino who were still both dead asleep. She turned back around to Adrien who was a brilliant shade of red and crushed under her knee that landed in the middle of his chest.

"Be quiet!" She hissed.

He nodded, his eyes blown wide. Marinette climbed off him and knelt near him as he sat back up. He looked at her and blushed.

"Sorry I just…. I could never hate you." He said honestly.

"Then why didn't you talk to me?" She asked, still unsure.

"I thought you hated me…" Adrien admitted.

Marinette looked offended.

"Why would I hate you? It wasn't your fault." She said.

He shrugged and sighed. He should have known better. Marinette wasn't the kind of person to get too worked up about stuff like this.

"Hey." She said, getting him to look up at her, "I'm glad it's you."

She smiled wide and bright. He grinned back at her.

"I'm glad it's you too." He said.

Marinette blushed and leaned over to shove him lightly.

"Don't ever ignore me again, you silly kitty" she said jokingly.

Adrien's grin widened.

"Of course, my Lady." He replied.

He leaned towards her and rested his head on her shoulder.

"We should probably head to bed." He said.

"Yeah" Marinette sighed.

In the morning, Nino was woken up to rough shaking and his name being hissed in a hushed whisper.

"Wha.. Alya? Why?" He asked groggily.

She put a finger to her lips to signal silence and pointed to the floor by the couch. Marinette and Adrien were curled up with each other, tangled in blankets with their legs twisted together in one cozy lump. Alya smiled as she pulled out her phone to take pictures. Nino rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned to Alya and mouthed 'finally.' Her grin grew wider. Adrien and Marinette would never hear the end of this.


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N: Hello! This will most likely be the last chapter of this story because it was supposed to be a one-shot but oops. Anyway… feel free to talk to me on tumblr at instantwaffles and please review! I love to hear what you have to say. Enjoy the story!)**

Sleep Over Secrets Epilogue

Marinette woke up to Tikki softly prodding her cheek.

"Marinette... Marinette wake up." She called softly.

"Hmm? Tikki what's goin' on?" Marinette slurred sleepily.

Tikki giggled and nuzzled Marinette's cheek.

"Oh Marinette." She chided gently.

Marinette slowly opened her eyes and looked around blinking. She immediately realized she wasn't in her room. To her right was the bottom of a couch. She turned her head all the way to the left and found herself staring into large green cat eyes.

"Hiya kid." The small black creature greeted.

"What in the..." Marinette grumbled backing away from the creature.

It was about the same size as Tikki but it had features like a cat.

"I see you've met Plagg." Said a familiar voice.

Marinette turned towards the voice to see Adrien smiling down at her with a large silver tray in his hands. The small black creature flew up towards Adrien with a scream.

"CHEESE!"

It dived at the tray and started gorging itself on stinking cheese. Adrien rolled his eyes and set the tray on the floor before sitting down next to Marinette.

"I hope he didn't bother you. He tends to be mischievous." Adrien said with a small smile.

Marinette shook her head and sat up. The tray was stacked with cookies, cheese, and croissants. Adrien grabbed a croissant and started eating.

"I'm sure they aren't as good as your parents but they aren't terrible." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Marinette was still confused and half-awake as Tikki dove into the cookies. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Adrien in panic. Adrien smiled at her, watching as she slowly remembered what happened yesterday night.

"Oh." She whispered.

Adrien continued smiling as he offered her a croissant again. She took one and started to eat while she let everything sink in. Adrien is Chat Noir. Chat Noir is Adrien. They're one in the same. When she thought about it, it made a good bit of sense. They looked alike and if Adrien was with friends he was pretty goofy like Chat too. She looked up at Adrien. He smiled back at her. Yeah she couldn't say that she was really surprised. She was happy though.

Marinette finished her croissant and looked down at Tikki who was still munching on cookies.

"So, that's..." she pointed at Plagg, "your kwami?"

"Yup!" Adrien exclaimed, nodding, "he's a real pain sometimes. I don't understand how he's the same species as Tikki. Tikki is sweet and friendly. Polar opposite of Plagg."

"I resent that." Plagg retorted, glaring up at Adrien as Tikki giggled.

Marinette looked over at the couch were Nino and Alya had been. She figured they had probably left earlier. Adrien saw where she was looking and blushed at the memories from earlier that morning. He had woken up to Alya and Nino snickering as Alya took hundreds of pictures. Alya was the first to notice that he had woken up. She teased him relentlessly while he tried to gently pry Marinette off him and after about 20 minutes of purely inappropriate jokes, Alya and Nino left saying something about how he and Marinette needed some 'alone time.' Adrien's face went bright red at that remark.

Marinette looked from the couch to Adrien only to see him looking away from her, his neck and ears bright red.

"Adrien, are you feeling alright? You look a little flushed." She asked, worried.

"Uh y-yeah I'm okay." He replied, still not facing her.

"Are you sure? You sound a little sick too." She continued.

He nodded, but Marinette was unconvinced. She crawled up behind him and placed a hand on his forehead. He visibly straightened. Marinette sighed.

"I think you have a fever. I'll go ask Natalie for fever reducer medicine." She sighed as she got up.

"N-no I don't have a fever. I-I," he scrambled for an excuse, "I was just in the kitchen by the fire so my face is still warm."

Marinette turned and looked down at him with disbelief. He looked up at her and she realized he was blushing. Her face sharpened from worry to nervousness as she sat back down next to him.

"So why did Alya and Nino leave?" She asked, trying to stick to a neutral topic.

Adrien blushed more and rubbed the back of his neck again.

"Ah... I'm not really sure." He admitted, truthfully. Adrien wasn't sure why they left. He knew that they wanted him and Marinette to get closer (although he wasn't sure why they wanted that either) but he didn't know why they thought they had to leave for it to happen.

Marinette wondered absentmindedly if Alya had said something to Adrien that made him nervous. He kept blushing and it wasn't helping Marinette's confidence at all. If anything, it was just worrying her.

Adrien on the other hand was trying to avoid telling her about the conversations that Alya had forced him into that morning. In his desperate attempt to change the subject from Alya, his eyes landed on Marinette's pajama pants. Which were covered in small black cats with green eyes and large bells. He grinned and looked up at her face, hoping that he wasn't blushing too much.

"I like your pajamas." He joked, trying to channel his superhero alter ego.

Marinette turned red and scoffed when Adrien started to laugh.

"Says the boy who once told me that he had Ladybug themed underwear with matching socks." She retorted with a smirk.

Adrien sputtered and pouted.

"Hey! No fair. I told you that before I knew you were the same person."

"All is fair in love and war." Marinette laughed and shook her head.

The word love seemed to echo in both of their heads. Marinette silently hoped that Adrien hadn't really been listening to her but she knew that he wasn't that kind of person. She had all of his attention. Adrien, on the other hand, was struggling to maintain a perfect smile and not hyperventilate because she said love and that definitely had to mean that she had at least a small crush on him, right? He really hoped so.

"W-well... I should probably get going... Maman and Papa might need help in the bakery..." Marinette said while trying not to lose her confidence.

"I'll walk you home!" Adrien declared quickly as he stood up.

He helped Marinette to her feet and gave her a small smile.

"Uh We should probably get dressed first." She suggested, looking down at her cat pajamas and Adrien's baby blue set.

Adrien nodded and they each took turns using his bathroom to change into warm winter clothes. They left his room together and Adrien texted Natalie to let her know where he would be. They started the walk in silence. Adrien tried to say something, anything, but he couldn't think of anything that didn't sound nervous or like a bad pickup line.

Adrien sighed and glanced over at Marinette. She was rubbing her hands together and blowing hot air across her fingers. Although they had only been outside for five minutes, her fingertips were already bright red from the cold. Adrien wondered if she had left her gloves at his house. He pulled off his own gloves.

"Marinette," he said to get her attention. She turned to looked at him and he offered her the gloves. "Your hands must be freezing."

She shook her head and pushed his gloves back towards him gently, "You keep them. You don't want your hands to get cold." She insisted, a soft smile on her face.

Adrien couldn't help but grin at her kindness, "but your hands are cold, aren't they?" He replied and held the gloves out for her again.

"Yes, but my hands are already cold so it's okay." Marinette said as she pushed his hands away.

Adrien sighed exaggeratedly, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. He put his right glove on and reached for Marinette's left hand. He gently tugged his glove onto her hand and smiled wider when she blushed and rolled her eyes.

"This way both of our hands are warm and cold." Adrien explained.

Marinette nodded and looked down at her gloveless hand swinging right next to Adrien's. She took a deep breath, summoned all her courage, and grabbed Adrien's bare left hand with her right. She faced forward and didn't look at him when her turned his head toward her questioningly. Her shoulders dropped and she sighed in relief when he curled his fingers around her.

"This way both of our hands are warm." Marinette twisted his words from earlier, still refusing to look at him and blushing lightly.

Adrien smiled, nodding in response and lightly swung his arm taking her's with him. He liked the way her hand felt locked with his.

"How was I so oblivious?" Marinette asked after a few moments of silence.

"What do you mean?" Adrien questioned, confused.

"How did I not see that you are Chat? I mean... the puns," She pulled a disgusted face, "all of the terrible puns."

"You wound me!" Adrien gasped, placing a hand on his chest as if physically harmed by her words, "my puns are cat-tastic."

"Oh no. Am I going to have to put up with twice the cat puns now?" Marinette groaned.

"I'm not gonna miss out on this clawsome oppurrrtunity, my lady." Adrien practically purred.

"I can't believe this is my life now. Those were awful." She complained, hanging her head.

"Pawful." He corrected grinning like the Cheshire cat.

They continued going back and forth. Marinette complaining about his terrible puns and Adrien telling his terrible puns. He was ecstatic. Adrien rarely got the opportunity to be so carefree without the mask. They ended up getting so wrapped up in their conversation they hardly realized when they made it to their destination.

Adrien walked her to the door on the side of her family's building that led straight to her house above the bakery.

"Uh... well this is my house... obviously. Thank you for walking me. You really didn't have to." Marinette said as she let go of his hand reluctantly and pulled off his glove to give back to him.

"No problem! I enjoyed spending the extra time with you." Adrien admitted shyly with a light blush.

"I enjoyed it too." Marinette muttered as she turned to open the door.

Adrien heard her remark despite her quiet tone. He reached out to her and placed a hand on her shoulder as she pushed the door open a crack. She looked over her shoulder at him, her hand still on the handle. Adrien struggled with himself internally and panicked. He didn't want to push any boundaries but he did want to get to know Marinette better, after all, he did still have a crush on her. He settled for what he hoped would be safe territory.

"Uh... would you like to... um hang out again... tomorrow sometime?" Adrien stammered out, praying that his face wasn't too red.

Marinette froze with her mouth open and her cheeks tinted red. She seemed to reboot and straightened her shoulders, a look of determination clear on her face.

"I would love to." She said sternly.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief and his shoulder released tension. He smiled at her and took his hand from her shoulder.

"Great! Maybe I'll finally beat you at megastrike." He smirked.

"Not likely." Marinette laughed with a wink, "I'll see you tomorrow, Adrien."

"Yeah. I'll see you." He said, still grinning.

She smiled, opened the door, and pulled herself inside. As soon as the door closed, Adrien heard a excited squeal. He smiled and started his walk back home.

He didn't get very far before he heard a door open and shut and running footsteps. He barely had enough time to turn around before Marinette slammed into him full force in a crushing hug that almost knocked him off his feet.

"OOOF"

"I'm glad it's you, Kitty." She said into his shoulder.

"I'm glad it's you too." Adrien told her as he wrapped his arms around her in return.

After a few minutes of standing in the cold and hugging, Marinette pulled back with a grin and reddened cheeks.

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said again.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Adrien replied smiling at her goofy smile.

Marinette turned and walked back to the door, waving before she slipped inside again. Adrien waved back and walked home, the smile never leaving his face. He could hardly wait for tomorrow.

 **(A/N: Thanks for reading!)**


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